Previous regulations classed the waste water as industrial effluent and Cuadrilla was legally authorised to discharge two million gallons into the Manchester Ship Canal after being processed at the Davyhulme treatment works in Trafford.

Image copyright(C) British Broadcasting Corporation

Flowback water is now classed as radioactive waste following European regulations which came in to force in October 2011.

Without a valid permit, the company can drill, but not frack and the operator and treatment works need a permit to safely dispose of it.

Cuadrilla said: "Following recent changes in the Environment Agency's guidance on permits and an ongoing review of our exploration programme, we have decided to withdraw the previous permit applications for our sites in Lancashire.

"We are preparing new permits and will provide further detail when we announce a number of proposed new exploration sites.

"We will need a radioactive substances permit to flow test any well after fracturing."

Trials are taking place with Remsol, a waste management firm in Preston, to reduce the radioactivity by 90% but it is understood this would involve moving large volumes of water out of the region in tankers.

Another report - by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) indicated that treatment capacity should not represent a problem in the UK - a view shared by Caudrilla.

See the full story on BBC One's Inside Out North West on Monday 27 January at 19:30 GMT.